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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. R. LOW 85 F. M. CLARK.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

No. 386,479. Patented July '24, 1888.

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(No Model.)

\A/ITNEEEEE- F. R. LOW & P. M. CLARK.

ROTARY $TBAM ENGINE.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented July 24, 1888.

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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

F. R. LOW & P. M. CLARK.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

No. 386,479. Patented. July 24, 1888.

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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 F. R. LOW 86 P. M. OLARK.'

ROTARYSTBAM ENGINE.

Patented July 24, 1888.

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(No Model.) 5 SheetsSheet 5.

F. R. LOW & F. M. CLARK.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

No. 386,479. Patented July 24, 1888.

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FRED R. LO\V, OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS, AND FRANK M. CLARK, OF TILTON,NE\V HAMPSHIRE.

ROTARY STEAM-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 386,479, dated July 24,1888.

Application filed July 1, 1887.

To aZZ whom it may concern: 4 Be it known that we, FRED It. Low, ofChelsea, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, and FRANKM. CLARK, of Til- 5 ton, in the county ofBelknap and State of NewHampshire, both citizens of the United States, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Rotary Steam-l lngines, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, inexplaining its nature.

This invention is a development of and improvement on the inventiondescribed in our application for Letters Patent of August 28,

1886, Serial No. 212,019.

The object of this invention is to provide means for coupling tworevolving piston-engines of the character described in the former 2capplication upon one shaft to furnish proper cut-off valves andvalve-gear for such engines, and to provide for oiling the same in asuitable manner.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view, part in elevation and part insection, of a pair of engines of this description coupled to the samebelt-pulley. Fig. 2 is a section on the liney y, looking toward thebelt-pulley. Fig. 3 is a section on thelinezz ofFig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sec-0 tion on the line a: moi Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on theline w w of Fig. 1.

Like letters indicatelike parts in all the figures.

A is the cylinder. It has a cover, A. In-

duction-ports under the cylinder are shown at a. Exhaust-ports alsocommunicate with the cylinder and are shown at c.

His the valvechest. The cylinder contains three pistons, O O C". Thesethree pistons 0 are mounted upon concentric shafts d d (1 Theseconcentric shafts carry each a crank, D D D and from each of thesecranks is extended. a connecting-rod, G G G which lays hold of awrist-pin, e e e, in the rim of the 5 fly-wheel B. The center ofrevolution of the lily-wheel B is at a distance from the center ofrevolution of the piston, somewhat less than the length of thecrank-webs-in the drawings about onetenth less-and the pistons revolvein their cylinder with continuous motion, al-

ternately accelerated and retarded in such Serial No. 243.058.

(No model.)

manner as to give a practically uniform motion to the revolution of theily-wheel B. This fiy-wheel B is placed midway between the two cylindersshown in Fig. l, and its boss or neck is mounted upon a neck on the sideof the cylinder A, which neck is shown at c of Fig. 1. Most of theseparts,except the valve-chest,are shown in the previous applicationalready referred to. The shaft (1 is perforated axially, as shown at d,and this axial perforation is longer than the width of the cylinder A,and when it has passed the whole length of the cylinder it turns outthrough the side of the shaft 11 and communicates,through holes in thesleeve (Z d, withacavityaliin the top of the neck a, which is projectedfrom the cylinder A toward the fly-wheel B and forms part of its centerof revolution.

A pipe, (1, crosses the cavity of the neck c and communicates with achannel, d perforated in said neck, which communicates with anotherpipe, (1, leading into the interior of the fly-wheel B, through whichoil is delivered from the interior of the fly-wheel. Packings 7 (markedin black heavy lines) are shown in Fig. 1 around the shaftsdd d, and aremarked 1', and the side packings between the disk parts of the pistons OG C are marked j. These side packings are pressed up againstthe crown-So ing-surface of the disk parts of said pistons by springs, as shown inFig. 1. The web of the fly-wheel B is double, and is formed of ahexagonal plate on each side, as shown in Fig. 2 at B, which plate isattached to flanges B, (shown in Fig. 1,) which are chords cutting offsmall segments of the interior of the flywheel at equal distances aroundthe rim. The web of the l ly-wheel is a double hexagonal plate, threesides of which are in contact with 0 the rim, and the other three sides,each of about two and one-half times the length of each of the threewhich are in contact with the rim of the flywheel, are chords whichinclose small cylindrical segments between the upper 5 surface of thesechord-flanges and the inner surface of the rim of the lly-wheel. \Vithinthis hexagonal box the crank-connections are located, and the box issubstantially oil'tight,

and is intended to be run about half-full of oil.

The expansion-valve gear of this engine is The valve-ports are assomewhat peculiar.

2 seems shown in Fig. 5. Steam enters through the passage a and goes ontoward the engine until it reaches thevalve chest H. This valve-chestis, as shown in Fig. 1, of substantially the Width of the cylinder A.The valve h, which is of cylindrical shape, hollow, and provided on theinside with ribs, revolves within the valve-chest. Two openings, h, inthe rim of this valve h permit steam entering at its ends to passthrough it, and there is interposed between the valve and the cylinderthe shield H, which constitutes a portion of the valvechest, throughwhich shield are arranged the ports 7i, leading to the cylinder.

Steam, it will be seen from consulting Figs. 1 and 3, enters the valveat its ends from the steamway c, and is delivered through its sides intothe cavity of the cylinder. The shield H referred to is ribbed, as shownin Fig. 1, and is, in fact, a grid. This valve h is mounted on aspindle,h, which passes through a stuffing-box, If, as shown in Fig. 1. Upon theend of the spindleis mounted a cog-wheel, L, which gears with anothercog-wheel, L, mounted concentrically around the axis of the fly-wheel B.This cog-wheel L moves with the fly-wheel B in its revolution, but ismovable for short distances either way upon it under the influence ofthe links, which are actuated by the spring and levergovernor,hereinafter described. At three different points on this cogwvheel L areattached links Z, which are attached by other links, 1, to gearsl,attached to arms whichcome down from theinterior of the rim of thefly-wheel B. Between the posts which carry these cog-wheels and anotherset of posts, Z, also projecting downward from the rim of the fly-wheel,there are mounted springs Z and a rack on the end of the spring'spindleserves to connect the spindle of the spring to the cog-wheel Z In lieuof a rack a hook-pawl may be used, but not to as' good advantage as therack.

The spindle of the spring Z passes through the spring, and by means of acollar, P, a considerable degree of initial tension may be given to thespring by screwing up on the spindle the nut shown outside of thecollar. The spindle of the spring is attached to the shortarm of a bentlever, l", which is hinged to thelong side of the hexagonal box whichforms the web of the fiy-wheel B.

As the fly-wheel B is revolved, the weight on the end of the lever Zwould be thrown outward by centrifugal force unless it were preventedfrom moving by the tension of the spring Z. That tensiou,- beingsuitably adjusted for a given rate of speed, the weight will not bethrown out nor the lever Z be moved until a predetermined rate ofrevolution is exceeded, in which case the tension of the spring will beovercome, the spring will be shortened, and the spindle moved inward insuch a way as to move slightly the cogwheel 1. In moving this cog-wheelZ the lever lwill be disturbed, and the toggle-joint formed by thelinkage Z Z will be straightened; but

this straightening cannot take place without moving the cogwheel L in adirection opposite the direction of revolution of the fly- .wheel B,(shown by the arrow in Fig. 2;) and this motion will movethe cog-wheel Lin an opposite direction and cause the valveh to rotate with it, andthereby cut off the steam sooner than it otherwise would. lfthe engineis moving in a reverse direction,the same cutting off will occur. Theexhaust, as will be noticed from Fig. 2, will. in this pattern of enginealways be free during about one-third of the revolution, and steam willbe taken during abou-tone-sixth of a revolution, and expansion will takeplace during about one-half of a revolution, the pistons being theinduction valves to each other, as described in the former applicationreferred to, while the valve h is a cut-off valve mainly.

The method of mounting the fly-wheel B upon t'he'neck a of the cylinderA is shown in Fig. 3. The neck is formed as a cylinder, which has uponone side of it a boss,(marked a,)and this boss is large enough tocontain the shaft and'sleeves attached to the pistons O O G". The neck ais completely encircled with a packing, (shown in black lines in Fig.3,)and in a recess in the boss at is another packing,

againstwhich the sleeve d runs.

cal longitudinal section and in Fig. 3 in vertical transverse section.

A sifln'mary of the governor system above described may be thus stated:A continuouslyrevolved cylinder-valve is driven by a gear continuouslyrevolved with and by the flywheel B; but its revolution may be hastenedor retarded by moving the -fly-wheel gear L forward or back around theaxis of revolution of the fly-wheel. This control movement is effectedby a system of linkage, which connects the fly-wheel gear L with thegovernorballssituatednear the periphery of the fly- 'Wheel and 'revolvedwith it and movable by centrifugal 'force in'and out on nearly radiallines. To secure the return of these balls, they moveout against springsand are returned by the springs.

It is obvious that the precise form of linkage is unimportant and'thatthe mounting of the balls on an elbow-lever is merely a matter ofdetail, the motion of the balls being the thing to be gathered andtransmitted and the novelty being mainly that the governor is in--corporated in the fly-wheel.

Havingthus fully described our invention,

we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1.A rotary steam-engine, in which are combined a steam-cylinder, threedifferentiallymoving pistons mounted upon concentric axes, a fly-wheelmounted upon a center of revolution different from the center ofrevolution of the three steam-pistons, and aseries of cranks, d d d, ofequal lengths and each longer than the distance separating the twocenters of revolution, and connecting-rods gg 9 attached to saidconcentric shafts and to the interior of Said fly theel, and atrain ofgearing, LL, revolving with and revolved by the revolution of thefly-whecl B, and a spring and weightgovernor and linkage connecting thesame with the gear L, which governor is attached to and revolves withthe fly-wheel B, and a cut-off valve, h, substantially as described.

2. The fly-wheel B, consisting of a hollow hexagonal box, asdcscribed,within the rim of the said fly-wheel, which hexagonal box isadapted to contain the cranks and connectingrods of the engine,substantially as described.

3. The fiy-wheel formed, as described, with an oil-tight hollow web forcontaining the working parts and with a series of oil-channels, (1* d d(F (1*, leading from the interior of said hollow web to and alongtheaxes of revolution of the pistons O C G and to the bearings of theseaxes, substantially as described.

4. The cylinder A, provided with the neck (6, containing the internalhollow boss, a, in

combination with the fly-wheel B, provided with the web B and its hub,substantially as and For the purposes described.

5. The combination of the continuously-revolved cylinder-valve h,withits gear-wheel L, the driving-gear L, mounted around the center ofrevolution of the tly-whcel B and revolved with said fly-wheel, thefly-wheel B, the governor mounted within said ily-whecl B and consistingof a weighted arm, Z, actuated by the centrifugal force imparted to theweight by the revolution of the lly-wheel B, and a spring, I, whichresists the outward throw of said weighted arm, a linkage between saidgovernor and said gear L,whereby the outward or inward movement of therevolved weight is transmitted to said gear L and moves it forward orback around its axis of revolution, substantially as described.

FRED R. LO\V. FRANK M. CLARK. \Vitnesses:

J. M. DOLAN, FRED. B. DoLAN.

